India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world with a population that is expected to grow from 1.2 to 1.4 billion by 2026. It is estimated that India will have nearly 700 million people in the working age bracket, 500 million of which would require some level of vocational and skill building training (Economic Times). At present only 10% of the workforce receives some form of training, accounting to 48% of employers in India finding it difficult to fill jobs (Planning Commission).

The resulting disconnect between the supply and demand for skilled labor and limited opportunities for vocational training means that a large majority of India’s population cannot realize the employment opportunities necessary to improve their income and contribute positively to India’s growth. In response to this, India’s only Skills Enterprise Competition, Power to Empower (P2E) has been developed to help bridge the gap between supply and demand of growth-enabling skilled workers, while catalyzing improved livelihoods for many Indians.

Now in its fourth edition, P2E 2015 aims to :-

Create an investible pipeline of skill development enterprises for the NSDC investment portfolio and other interested investors.

To increase the awareness among aspiring entrepreneurs, students, individuals, organizations for development and promotion of “Skills” as an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Power to Empower is co-organized by India @75 (a CII initiative) and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).

Previous edition of Power to Empower – 2013 – 14

In the Third edition of Power to Empower, applications were invited under “Idea” and “Operations” category. The competition was open to Individuals, groups, organisations in both categories. It received 1,004 applications; 280 applications in the Operations Category and 724 applications in the Idea category.